Nicaragua Medical Mission Trip
July 29 - August 6, 2016
History of the trip
• Annual trip, started in 2007
• Organized by a group of UT Med students who have attended the trip in the past
• Work closely with a local physician who determines which villages need our assistance
• Attending physicians are UT faculty
• PT students have been involved for past few years
Who goes on the trip?
Interdisciplinary team of ~30 people:
• Medical students
• PA students
• Pharmacy students
• Physicians, PAs, and a licensed PT
• ...and PT Students!
Location: León, Nicaragua • Second largest city in Nicaragua
• Originally founded in 1524, used to be 20 miles east of present site
• City relocated in the 1600’s after series of earthquakes caused by a nearby volcano
• Cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Trip Itinerary
• Leave from Detroit on Saturday July 29th
• Arrive in Managua and travel to León via bus
• Sunday: beach day, shopping, group meetings and dinner outing
• Clinics Monday through Friday
• Orphanage Friday
• Pool day on Saturday
• Depart for home Sunday, August 6th
Home away from home: El Ayudante
Daily Schedule
• Wake up, coffee/breakfast
• Travel to the clinic site (different site each day)
• Set up clinic, treat patients
• Break for lunch at the site
• Treat patients, pack up clinic, travel back home
• Dinner at El Ayudante or restaurant
Services Provided • Triage station: initial evaluation, vitals, and
care coordination for:
• Adult medicine
• Pediatric medicine
• Gynecology: pap tests and pelvic exams, OB
• Pharmacy students dispense meds
• Dental: preventive services (usually off site)
• Physical Therapy
What can PT do there?
Lots of things!
• Patients get referred to PT by med teams
• PT history and examination and discuss with PT
• Explain PT diagnosis to patient
• Demonstrate interventions, activity modifications, etc.
• Provide illustrated home exercise handouts, written in spanish
• Provide donated assistive devices
• ...and lots more!
Patient Cases from 2016
Low back pain
Shoulder pain
Neck pain
Arthritis
Cerebral Palsy
Knee pain
Positional vertigo
Communication • Lots of interpreters available
• Dr. Black (PT) speaks spanish well
• Spanish not required for students, but even a little bit helps!
Cost • Total cost: between $1500-$1700 (based
on last year)
• This includes flights, group lodging at El Ayudante, most meals, transportation
• Group FUNDRAISING can help bring the cost down
Join us!
If you are interested in applying, or if you have questions,
please talk to us!
...or email: [email protected]